FUNCHAL PORTUGUESE SURVIVOR

Seven years ago the future of the small Portuguese cruise ship Funchal seemed bright. Despite her age, she had been extensively refurbished for further service, and was looking particularly smart in her freshly painted retro livery. Sadly, her new owners foundered within two years, and the handsome vessel has since been laid up in Lisbon.

The classic ship traces her origins back to the late 1950s, when the Portuguese shipping company Empresa Insulana de Navegação made plans for a new vessel to serve its passenger and mail route from Lisbon to the Portuguese archipelagos of Madeira and the Azores, and Spain’s Canary Islands. Taking her name from Madeira’s capital, the 9,800gt Funchal revolutionised travel to the islands with her comfort and speed.

was launched at Denmark’s Elsinore Shipyard in February 1961 and reached her homeport of Lisbon for the first time on 19 October 1961. With a black hull and buff funnel, the yacht-like vessel had elegant lines, although the terracing of her aft decks below the height of the bow made